Electronic data structure for controlling access to data objects using locks
A data structure is provided for preventing access, in a computer system, to a data object having an identifier (ID). The data structure comprises a first lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to the ID, and a second lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored. In one embodiment, the ID is stored in the second lock object before storing the ID in the first lock object or before assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in first lock object. Further, the ID is deleted from the second lock object after storing the ID in the first lock object or after assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in the first lock object. The data object may be accessible by a software application, whereby the access of the software application to the data object is prevented if the ID is stored in the first or second lock object.
1. Field of the Invention
The technical field of this invention is in the area of electronic data processing. More particularly, the invention relates to data structures, methods, computer program products and systems for accessing data objects, particularly in the context of data moving.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moving of data objects is well known to every user of a computer and is a standard procedure, which is routinely applied. A special application of moving data objects is the archiving process, by which data objects are moved from a first to a second storage location for safety and/or performance reasons. In enterprises, enterprise resource planning software (ERP) applications are used to control or support business processes and the management of the enterprise. ERP software is further used to manage company information of enterprises of various kinds in any field of technology by means of automatic data processing systems such as computers or computer systems. During the use of such software a huge amount of data is usually created, which contains important business information and which has to be archived from time to time.
According to the state of the art (see Helmut Stefani, Datenarchivierung mit SAP, Galileo Press GmbH, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-89842-212-7), archiving can be performed automatically by archiving software tools, which can be part of the ERP software. Such tools can consist of a writing module, which stores (writes) the data objects to be archived sequentially in archive files, and a deleting module, which deletes the successfully archived data from the original data object base. The writing module can select the data objects to be archived from the data base according to specific criteria, e.g. the creation time of the data. It usually does not modify the original data objects or data base. The deleting module staggeredly reads the archive file sequentially and deletes the data objects found in the archive file from the original data base. This ensures that only such data objects are deleted from the original data base, which are readably stored in the archive file. The time for the archiving procedure as a whole depends on the amount of data and varies from a few milliseconds to several hours or days. Consequently, there is in many cases a considerable time gap between writing the data into the archive file and deleting the data from the original data base. This time gap can be a reason for the following problems:
As long as the data objects are still available in the original data base, they can still be modified by any software application during said time gap. Because the deleting program does not compare the archived data object and the data object to be deleted, such modifications can be lost. This has not only the consequence of the loss of the amended data, it can additionally have the consequence that certain business processes can not be completed.
An other problem arises, if several archiving processes run in parallel. Then it can happen, that one data object is archived several times, and is no longer unambiguously identifiable. This can have the consequence that evaluations or statistical analysis, which use the archive files, produce wrong results.
It can also happen that data objects in the original data base are read by the writing module and are simultaneously modified by an other software application. In such a case, the data can be transferred from an archiveable status to a non-archiveable status. In consequence, data objects which are not archiveable are written into the archive file and are deleted from the original data base. In effect, this can result in a loss of data.
Thus, there is a need for a data structure, method, software application and/or data processing system providing a more efficient solution of the problems described above, particularly it is desirable to provide a data structure for enabling an effective prevention of the modification of a data object during a moving or archiving process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, methods and systems consistent with the principles of the invention provide a data structure for enabling preventing in a computer system an access to a data object having an identifier (ID), comprising:
a first lock object, in which the ID of a data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to said ID, and
a second lock object in which the ID of the data object is stored,
said lock objects being accessible by a software application.
By accessing this data structure, software applications, which require access to data objects, can check by querying the lock objects, whether the data to be accessed are subject to a moving process or not. If yes, the access to that data can be postponed until the moving is completed.
In accordance with another aspect, the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, methods and systems consistent with the principles of the invention provide a computer system for processing data by means of or in a software application for enabling preventing in a computer system an access to a data object having an identifier (ID), comprising:
memory having program instructions;
input means for entering data;
storage means for storing data;
a processor responsive to the program instructions and
a data structure comprising:
a first lock object, in which the ID of a data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to said ID, and
a second lock object in which the ID of the data object is stored,
said lock objects being accessible by a software application.
The invention and its embodiments are further directed to a computer readable medium and a carrier signal comprising instructions for processing data according to the inventive method and in its embodiments.
An advantage of the invention and its embodiments is that the security against data loss in data moving and archiving procedures is greatly improved. This avoids in consequence a lot of time and money for data retrieving.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention and its embodiments will be set forth in part in the description, or can be learned by practice of the invention. Objects and advantages will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the detailed description section and in the dependent and appended claims as well.
It is understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention and its embodiments, as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate examples of embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,
Computer system and program are closely related. As used hereinafter, phrases, such as “the computer provides” and “the program provides or performs specific actions”, “a user performs a specific action” are convenient abbreviation to express actions by a computer system that is controlled by a program or to express that the program or program module is designed to enable the computer system to perform the specific action or the enable a user to perform the specific action by means of a computer system.
Reference will now be made in detail to the principles of the invention by explaining the invention on the basis of the archiving process, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Examples, mentioned therein, are intended to explain the invention and not to limit the invention in any kind.
Within the concept of this description, the terms used shall have their usual meaning in the context of the field of data processing unless defined otherwise in the following section:
A computer system can be a stand alone computer such as a PC or a laptop or a series of computers connected as a network, e.g. a network within a company, or a series of computers connected via the internet. A data object to be archived can be any kind or type of data, e.g. numerical or textual data, image data, meta data, irrespective whether the data are implemented as whole files or parts of files or fields in tables, irrespective whether they are stored in volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. As an example, data objects according to the present invention can be implemented as one or more fields of one or more tables, particularly of tables of a relational data base system, or as objects in an object orientated programming language.
The term ERP software shall be considerer to comprise any software application that supports the business processes of an enterprise.
A storage location is volatile or nonvolatile (permanent) storage means accessible by the computer system, whereby the volatile storage means loses its content if the electric power supply is switched off. A storage location can be any kind of computer storage means known to one of ordinary skill, e.g. RAM, magnetic or optical storage, such as floppy disk, hard disk, MO-Disk, CD-ROM, CD RW, DVD ROM, DVD RW, etc.
An identifier (ID) is a type of data, which allows an unambiguous identification of the data object to be archived, it can be implemented for example as a number or a combination of alphanumerical characters or as a characteristic part of the data object to be archived. It is clear from that definition that a data object can have a wide variety of IDs. A lock object is a data object, in which the identifiers are stored. It can be implemented e.g. as a file on a storage means or as a data array in computer memory. The first lock object can be stored advantageously in a nonvolatile storage means and the second lock object can be stored in volatile and/or nonvolatile storage means.
The assignment of a storage location to an ID can be implemented by a table, in which one field of a line contains the ID and an other field of that line contains a link to the second storage location, e.g. a file name. This table can be stored as a file on a nonvolatile storage means.
In case the program modules 106, 109, 110 are processed by CPU 105 in order to make use of the inventive data structure, one or more data objects stored in the first storage means 107 are selected and the checking module 109 checks before the data objects are accessed by reading module 110 or writing module 106, whether the ID of the selected data object or objects is contained in the first lock object and whether a link to the second or first storage location 107, 108 or to a file on these storage locations is assigned to said ID in said first lock object. In case said ID is not contained in said first lock object and/or no link is assigned to said ID, the call of the reading or writing module is skipped. The software application 111 can then be terminated and started anew at a later time. Alternatively, checking module 109 can be repeatedly called until the data object is free for access.
In a second implementation of the invention, a data object comprises one or more fields of one or more tables, and the ID of the respective object comprises one or more key fields of that data object. This can be seen from
An ID of such a data object can be implemented by the content of one or more so-called key fields, if the combination of these key fields is unique within the respective table. In the example, the fields of “field A” and “field B” can be used as key fields for table 1, whereas field A alone is key field in table 2. Within this example, the data object has the content of the fields of columns field A and B of the respective lines as ID. The ID for the data object to be archived is stored as a first type ID in a first type lock object, named persistent lock object in
Selection of the data object can be implemented by an automatic procedure, such as a simple query, that returns all lines having a certain field that satisfy a certain condition. For example, the procedure could return all lines in which the content of a date field pre-dates or post-dates a certain deadline. Selection can also be implemented by a user to whom a selection table is presented via a graphical user interface.
A further embodiment is characterized in that said first and second lock objects are created by an data moving or data archiving process.
In order to better understand the inventive data structure and its advantages, the creation of the lock objects is now described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, which are schematic flow diagrams of exemplary implementations of a data moving or archiving processes, respectively, as shown in
In the flow chart of the selecting module in
Both checks (steps 303 and 304) can also be implemented by querying the respective lock objects. If a P-lock exists, the T-lock is deleted (step 308) and the next data object is selected (step 309). If no P-lock exists, it is checked in steps 305 and 306, whether the data object is archiveable. Such checking comprises a test whether the data in the data object is readable, complete, not fraught with obvious failures, etc. If the test is successful, a P-lock is set on that data object in step 307, whereby no archive file is assigned to the data object at that point. Then the T-lock is deleted (step 308) and the next data object is selected (step 309).
In the flow chart of the writing module in
In the flow chart of the deleting module in
In the exemplary flow chart of a further exemplary implementation of the creation of a lock object in
This procedure is particularly useful, in that data objects, which are not yet stored in an archive file, can be still altered. Consequently, they can be archived only at the next archive run.
Modifications and adaptations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. The foregoing description of an implementation of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or can be acquired from the practicing of the invention. For example, the described implementation includes software, but systems and methods consistent with the present invention can be implemented as a combination of hardware and software or in hardware alone. Additionally, although aspects of the present invention are described for being stored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, for example, hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM; the Internet or other propagation medium; or other forms of RAM or ROM. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
Computer programs based on the written description and flow charts of this invention are within the skill of an experienced developer. The various programs or program modules can be created using any of the techniques known to one skilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existing software. For example, programs or program modules can be designed in or by means of ® Java, C++, HTML, XML, or HTML with included Java applets or in SAP R/3 or ABAP.
Claims
1. A data structure for preventing access, in a computer system, to a data object having an identifier (ID), comprising:
- a first lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to the ID, and
- a second lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, wherein
- the ID is stored in the second lock object before storing the ID in the first lock object or before assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in first lock object, wherein
- the ID is deleted from the second lock object after storing the ID in the first lock object or after assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in the first lock object, and wherein
- the lock objects is accessible by a software application, whereby the access of the software application to the data object is prevented if the ID is stored in the first or second lock object.
2. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the link is a filename or a link to a file.
3. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the first lock object is a file stored in a nonvolatile storage means.
4. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the first lock object comprises a table, having a column for the ID and a column for the link of the ID to a storage location.
5. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the data object comprises one ore more fields of one or more tables and wherein the ID comprises one or more key fields of the one or more tables.
6. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the first and second lock objects are created by a data moving or data archiving process.
7. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the second lock object is stored in a volatile or nonvolatile storage means.
8. The data structure one of claim 1, wherein the second lock object is a data array.
9. The data structure of claim 8, wherein the data array is one dimensional.
10. The data structure of claim 1 for use in enterprise resource planning software.
11. A computer system for processing data and preventing access to a data object having an identifier (ID), comprising:
- memory means having program instructions;
- input means for entering data;
- storage means for storing data;
- a processor responsive to the program instructions and
- a data structure comprising:
- a first lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to the ID, and
- a second lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, wherein
- the ID is stored in the second lock object before storing the ID in the first lock object or before assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in first lock object, wherein
- the ID is deleted from the second lock object after storing the ID in the first lock object or after assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in the first lock object, and wherein
- the lock object is accessible by a software application, whereby the access of the software application to the data object is prevented if the ID is stored in the first or second lock object.
12. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for creating a data structure for preventing access, in a computer system, to a data object having an identifier (ID), comprising:
- a first lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, and in which a link to a storage location of the data object is assigned to the ID, and
- a second lock object, in which the ID of the data object is stored, wherein
- the ID is stored in the second lock object before storing the ID in the first lock object or before assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in first lock object, wherein
- the ID is deleted from the second lock object after storing the ID in the first lock object or after assigning the storage location of the data object to the ID in the first lock object, and wherein
- the lock object is accessible by a software application, whereby the access of the software application to the data object is prevented if the ID is stored in the first or second lock object.
13. (canceled)
14. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the link is a filename or a link to a file.
15. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the first lock object is a file stored on a nonvolatile storage means.
16. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the first lock object comprises a table, having a column for the ID and a column for the link of the ID to a storage location.
17. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the data object comprises one ore more fields of one or more tables and wherein the ID comprises one or more key fields of the one or more tables.
18. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the first and second lock objects are created by a data moving or data archiving process.
19. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the second lock object is stored in a volatile or nonvolatile storage means.
20. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the second lock object is a data array.
21. The data structure of claims 11 or 12, wherein the data array is one dimensional.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 4, 2003
Publication Date: Jul 6, 2006
Patent Grant number: 7756813
Inventors: Thorsten Pferdekaemper (Walldorf), Martin Fischer (Heidelberg)
Application Number: 10/526,751
International Classification: G06F 17/30 (20060101);